Jack and Maggie
by Silwyna
Summary: This is a backgroundstory for our favourite doctor Cottle. Written for a challenge several months ago. PreMini
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: The characters and situations of the TV program Battlestar Galactica are the creations of SciFi, RDM, DE and many others and have been used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended by the author. The ideas expressed in this story are copyrighted by the author.**

**Jack and Maggie **

**by Silwyna **

_First Cylon War, Refugee Camp, Caprica_

"Are you a doctor?"

Irritated Jack turned around to the woman who had asked the question. "I'm wearing a white scrub, what do you think?"

"Smartass. Come on, I need you." Without waiting for him to reply, the woman turned around to leave.

"I have patients here to look after. You will have to wait." He told her, annoyed by her attitude.

Sighing she turned around to him. "Look, there is a medical emergency. You either come now and help or you can point me to the next priest because my friend won't live much longer." She glared at him angrily.

Jack wanted to give her a smug reply – there was more than just one emergency here – but when he looked at her he saw something in her eyes and the words stuck in his mouth. Before he knew what he was doing, he had grabbed his medical bag and followed her. "This better be a real emergency." He muttered to save at least some of his pride. He had no idea what had made him go with her.

As it turned out, it was a real emergency. The man she brought him to was close to death. Jack had arrived right on time. He was sure that had he arrived a few minutes later the man would have died. He was bleeding from several deep wounds and had already lost a lot of blood.

"What happened?" Jack asked while he examined his new patient and tended his wounds as well as he could.

"What do you think?" The woman snapped at him. Then she took a deep breath. "We ran into a Cylon patrol. They immediately started firing. Most of us died. The ones that survived picked up the injured and came here."

"Frakking Cylons." Jack mumbled. Ever since this war had started he had seen nothing but pain and death. This wasn't what he had imagined when he had decided to become a doctor. His father had always warned him that the Cylons would mean trouble. He hadn't believed him. He had thought that they were a great invention, possible the greatest one so far in the history of humanity. He had never been more wrong. And now they were in the middle of this frakking war and with his 26 years he already counted as one of the most experienced doctors in the fleet.

"Will he survive?"

Her quiet voice pulled him out of his thoughts. "How should I know? I'm not a psychic." When he looked at her, he regretted his harsh words. She looked truly worried. "We will know more in a few hours. There's nothing else I can do here. I have to get back to my other patients. I will look after him in a few hours. If his condition changes, call me."

"Thank you." She smiled at him for the first time.

He looked at her thoughtfully. There was something about her that made her somehow different than other women. He couldn't say what that was ... but he knew he wanted to know more about her. "What's your name?" The question had left his mouth before he could even think about it.

She hesitated a moment before she replied. "Maggie." She swallowed. "Maggie Dawson."

"Okay. Ask for Jack Cottle when you need me, Maggie Dawson."

XXXXXXX

Jack saw Maggie again several times during the next few days. He caught himself looking more after her friend than was necessary, always hoping to see her again. Of course he would never admit that, not even to himself. She was a stubborn, irritating woman and most of the time they were arguing more than really talking. But he still felt inexplicably drawn to her.

Four days and several quarrels after he had met Maggie for the first time, he found himself having his first real conversation with her. They were sitting around a fire with a few other people. Jack wasn't really in the mood to talk. It had been a hard day. Several new refugees had arrived at the camp today, many of them seriously wounded. He tried not to get too involved with them. In the beginning he had listened to their stories, had tried to help the people dealing with their traumas. But there were just too many ... now he simply took care of their wounds and went on to the next patient. It was easier this way.

He was just about to call it a night and go to his tent, when Maggie's voice stopped him.

"Where are you from?"

Surprised at her question he looked at her. It was the first time she had asked him something that wasn't medical related. "Caprica City. And you?"

"Bayton."

"Never heard of it." Jack admitted.

"And you never will anymore. It's completely destroyed." She didn't have to say anything else. He could imagine the rest.

"I'm sorry."

"We were lucky we got out in time. Frakking toasters. If I ever get my hands on the bastard who invented them ..." Her voice trailed off and she stared angrily at the fire.

"Get in line." Jack replied cynically. "Did you grow up in Bayton?"

"Yes, lived there my whole life. I knew almost all the inhabitants," she said quietly. A sad expression flashed through her eyes, but she recovered her composure quickly. "And what about you? You're a real city boy?"

"Me? Gods, no." Jack grinned. "I'm from Carnsville, that's about 20 miles outside of Caprica City. A small town, mostly farmers. My parents have a house there. My father built it with his own hands." A small laugh escaped his lips. "The Cylons better not get near there. My parents would teach them never to come near a human again."

She had to laugh at his words. "Are they farmers too?"

"Yes." He wanted to ask after her parents, but he wasn't sure if they had been lucky enough to get out of Bayton in time and he didn't want to raise any painful memories for her.

"And how come you decided to join the fleet?" Maggie wanted to know.

"I always wanted to study medicine. My parents aren't rich enough to pay the tuition. Joining the fleet was the only way I could become a doctor."

"You're pretty young to be a doctor, aren't you?"

"When the war started, they pushed our graduations. Everyone who knew something about medicine suddenly turned into a doctor."

"Well, you turned into a pretty good one."

Jack only shrugged in response. "What about you?"

"I wanted to become a teacher. I was on the university for a few years, but then my Mom got sick and I came back to Bayton to take care of her. I wanted to finish the studies when she was better again, but ... well, then the war started."

They fell silent for a while, both lost in their own thoughts. Eventually Maggie stood up.

"Thanks, uhm ... this was good. Just talking ..." She looked at him with an expression he couldn't quite read. "Good night."

"Good night." He watched her disappearing in the night and wondered what had made her start a normal conversation with him. She usually never had any nice words for him. But she was right ... just talking had felt very good.

XXXXXXX

When Jack had started to work in one of the refugee camps on Caprica, he had never thought he would find something good in all this chaos. He had hated it from the beginning. There wasn't really much he could do here. They didn't have enough medication for all the patients and there were more and more coming each day.

But when he met Maggie Dawson he found something again to look forward to during the day. After their first real talk they met every night. He enjoyed their conversations. They usually never talked much, but the few words they exchanged meant a lot to him. Those moments with her every night made it easier dealing with the horrors of the day.

The day he finally realized that Maggie was more than just another refugee for him was the day the Cylons attacked the camp. He was watching her from afar when the alarms went off.

"Frak!" He cursed under his breath. He punched the nearest wall with his fist, then he started shouting orders. "Get the patients on the ships NOW! You ..." He grabbed a man who was running past him in panic." ... get over there and help Mannings. Steve, leave that, forget the equipment, we only get out the patients!"

Despite their best efforts, they didn't manage to get everyone out in time. The Cylons came too fast and they attacked without mercy. There was no way to evacuate everyone, but Jack wasn't willing to leave anyone behind. As soon as he brought one of the patients on to the waiting rescue ships, he jumped out again, ignoring the shouts of the Officer in Charge to come back. There were still over thirty patients in the camp and he was determined to get as many of them out of there as possible. While he was carrying a young, severely injured viper pilot who had crashed near the camp a few days ago, his thoughts went to Maggie. He hoped she was safely on one of the ships already on their way to the orbit, away from here.

Pushing her out of his thoughts and concentrating on the task at hand, he kept dragging the man to the waiting raptor. He could see Sergeant Harris shouting at him, but with all the shooting and explosions around him, he couldn't understand what he was saying. Suddenly he felt a stabbing pain in his leg and stumbled to the floor. He saw several bullets hitting the floor around him and another pain flooded through his arm. He looked up and saw Harris standing at the entrance of the ship. He tried to get up, but his legs gave in before he was able to fully stand upright and he sagged down on the ground again. The last thing he saw was Harris running in his direction before his world turned black.

XXXXXXX

Slowly Jack came back to consciousness. He felt strange ... as if he was floating. The only thing that seemed to keep him on the ground was someone holding his hand. He tried to hold onto this.

"Jack?"

He heard someone calling his name ... the voice sounded familiar, but seemed to be miles away.

"Jack, can you hear me? Can you open your eyes? Just for a second?"

The voice sounded so pleading, he couldn't ignore her. He forced his eyes to open and saw a blurry vision of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen sitting next to him. "Maggie?" He slurred in a hoarse voice. His throat felt sore. He tried to think of an explanation for that. He couldn't think of any. "What ..."

"Shh, don't talk." Maggie put her finger on his lips. "You had a tube in your throat for several days. You nearly died."

Jack tried to comprehend what she was saying ... but it didn't make any sense. Why would he have a tube in his throat? And dying?

Maggie saw the confusion in his eyes. "You stupid idiot had to run back there and get yourself shot. Moron."

Slowly the memory came back to Jack. He remembered shots, explosions ... "The pilot..."

"He's alive. Sergeant Harris managed to bring both of you back to the ship the last second." Maggie swallowed and squeezed Jack's hand tightly. "You're a hero, Jack. You saved so many people. If it hadn't been for you, we would have lost many more. You did good."

He eyes fell close and when he didn't open them again, Maggie was convinced he had fallen back asleep when she suddenly felt a weak squeeze from his hand.

"Thanks." He mumbled.

"What for?"

"For ... being here."

"No problem." She swallowed and grasped his hand a bit tighter. She thanked the gods that they had spared him. Humanity needed people like him in times like these.

XXXXXXX

After two weeks Jack was released from hospital and he started working again. He was still limping and couldn't use his arm properly, but he was helping with the little things. It was better than just sitting around. He saw Maggie at least once a day. She always seemed to find a reason to come to the hospital and would coincidentally run into him. She always seemed to be there at the right time to get him to take a break. They were back to arguing more than actual talking but she took good care of him and he was grateful for it.

Jack didn't remember much from the day the Cylons had attacked the refugee camp, only bits and pieces. But there was one thing he remembered clearly – his realization what he felt for Maggie. And when he heard there would be a Colonial Day Dance the next month in the new refugee camp they were in he knew what he had to do.

"Maggie, hi."

"Hi. I brought you lunch." She smiled at him.

"Thanks." He replied with a warm smile. He took a deep breath and collected all his courage.

"Maggie, I wanted ..."

"Jack, I have ..."

They both had to laugh.

"You start." Maggie said quickly.

"No, ladies first." Jack insisted.

"Don't be ridiculous. What did you want to say?"

Jack took a deep breath. It was now or never. "I wanted to invite you to the Colonial Day Dance next month."

"Oh ..."

"Oh?" He looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"I can't. I'm sorry."

"Oh ..."

"It's not that I don't want to, it's just ... I have this rule and ... I never go out with people I work with."

He looked at her stunned. "We don't work together."

"Yes, we do."

"No, we don't."

"That's what I wanted to tell you ... I'm working at the hospital from tomorrow on. We'll be colleagues." She told him with a half smile.

"Oh ... "He shook his head. "That's ridiculous."

"No, it's not."

"Yes, it is. We've known each other for some time now and just because you're starting to work at the hospital tomorrow means we can't do anything together anymore?" He asked angrily.

"I didn't say that ... We just can't go to the dance together."

"Since when do you know about the job?"

"I applied for it last week." She replied quietly.

"And if I had asked you the week before that? Would you have said yes?"

She hesitated a moment. "I ... I don't know."

"That's a lie."

"Jack ..."

"Just forget it." Without looking at her again, Jack turned away from her and left. He cursed himself. Why had he waited so long? And why did she have to have this stupid rule?

Jack was in a bad mood for the rest of the day. He was angry at himself and angry at her. But at the end of the day he made up his mind ... He was Alvin Cottle's son and a Cottle never gave up so easily.

XXXXXXX

The next day Jack greeted Maggie with a wide smile.

"Good Morning."

"Good Morning." She looked at him surprised. After their talk yesterday she had expected him to be still mad at her.

"You're ready for the new job?"

"Yes, I'm really looking forward to do something useful." She replied smiling.

"I know the feeling. So ... did you think about my question?"

Maggie looked at him confused.

"About the Colonial Day Dance." Jack explained grinning.

"Jack, I already told you I can't go with you."

"I know but I decided not to accept your reasoning. So, are you going with me?"

"No." She glared at him determinedly and this time it was she who walked away.

The next day Jack asked her again. And again her answer was the same. But he didn't give up. He asked her again and again every day until the Dance was only a week away. Each time she turned him down.

XXXXXXX

Deep in thought Jack watched Maggie talking to one of the patients.

"How much longer are you going to keep doing this?"

"Hmm?" Startled Jack turned around and saw Dave Harris standing in front of him. "What do you mean?"

"Oh come on, Cottle, for three weeks you've been asking this girl to go out with you and she's turning you down every time. Why are you doing this to yourself?"

"Because I love her." Jack was surprised at his own words, but as soon as they had left his mouth, he knew it was true. He was in love with Maggie Dawson.

Harris let out a sarcastic laugh. "You're a fool."

Jack only shrugged.

Shaking his head, Harris offered him one of his cigarettes. "Want one? You could need it."

"You know I don't smoke." Jack replied.

"Yeah, yeah ... smoking is a health risk, I heard it all before." Harris smirked and took a long drag from his cigarette. "So, how long?"

"Just one more time." Jack said in a firm voice. "And this time she's going to say yes."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." Jack took a deep breath and with quick steps he walked towards Maggie. "Maggie."

With a sigh Maggie turned to him. She knew what would come now.

Stopping directly in front of her, Jack looked at her sternly. "Are you going to the dance with me now or not?" He asked in a harsh tone.

Maggie was completely taken by surprise by his gruff tone and before she knew what she was saying she had accepted his invitation.

For a moment Jack just stared at her. Then a wide grin spread on his face. "Good. I pick you up at seven."

TBC

**A.N.: Thanks to Laurie for beta reading. You're the best!!! **


	2. Chapter 2

"What in the gods' names made you say yes? I thought you didn't want to go out with him." Emmy Birdsley, Maggie's best friends from childhood days, stared at her with wide eyes.

"I don't know." Maggie looked at her helplessly. "I just ... the way he asked ...I think I was afraid he wouldn't ask again."

"But you've been trying to get him to stop asking you out for three weeks and when he's finally about to give up you say yes?"

"I know it doesn't make any sense, but ..."

"But what?" Emmy inquired when Maggie didn't continue. When she didn't get an answer, she suddenly realized what was going on. She knew her friend for too long to not recognize the signs. "Oh gods, you're in love with him."

"What? Oh, don't be ridiculous Emmy. Jack Cottle is the most stubborn, idiotic, disrespectful, cynical man I've ever met." Maggie called out indignantly. "I am most definitely not in love with him."

"If Jack Cottle really is such a terrible person, why are you spending so much time with him?" Emmy asked grinning.

Maggie opened her mouth to give a smug reply, but she didn't really know what to say. She had no idea what was making her seek out Jack Cottle so often.

XXXXXX

The night of the Colonial Day Dance was finally there. At first Maggie and Jack only sat quietly at their table, neither of them saying much. But after a while they started talking about their work at the hospital and eventually their conversation turned to more personal matters and when Jack finally found the courage to ask her to dance she followed him to the dance floor happily. They danced for the rest of the night.

It was almost morning when Jack brought her back to her tent.

"It was a wonderful evening. Thank you."

"Thank you." Jack replied smiling. He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. "What made you say yes?"

Maggie let out a nervous laugh. "Emmy asked me the same thing."

"And what did you answer?"

"That I have no idea." She laughed again and then looked nervously down at her hands. "Emmy thinks it's because I love you."

Surprised Jack looked at her. "And is she right?" He asked quietly.

"I don't know ... maybe."

That was all the answer Jack needed. He moved closer to her and kissed her. It only took Maggie a short moment before she returned the kiss. It was at this moment that she realized Emmy had been right.

When Jack asked her to marry him six months later Maggie said yes without hesitating a second.

XXXXXXX

They were planning to get married as soon as possible, but the war thwarted their plans. The Cylons kept attacking with more ferocity than ever and the Colonials were taking heavy losses. Three weeks before the appointed wedding date Jack received his orders to transfer to the Battlestar Atlantia.

"That's not fair!" Maggie exclaimed, throwing the paper with Jack's orders across the room.

Jack let out a deep sigh. "It will only be for a short while. I ... " He hated to say the next words. "I don't think it will be for much longer. The way things are ..." His voice trailed off. He really didn't want to say it. Saying it meant it was true.

Maggie had no problem saying the words though. "We're losing the war." She finished for him.

"Look, I ... I talked to one of the pilots. He could get you and your family to Carnsville. You could stay with my parents. It ... it would be safer. It's only a small village, the Cylons wouldn't come there so fast, maybe they won't even come there at all. You would be safe there ... and I'd always know where to find you."

"I don't want to leave you." She whispered.

"Neither do I." Jack hugged her tightly before he went on. "I'll come to you as soon as the war is over."

"Jack ..."

"Ask for Bill Adama, that's the pilot's name." Jack interrupted her.

"What about my job at the clinic? I can't just ..."

"They have doctors in Carnsville, you can help them." Jack cut in again. "They have a school there too. In their last letter my parents told me the last teacher there joined the military a few months ago. They could need a new one."

With tears in her eyes Maggie looked at him. Then she cupped his face with her hands and gave him a long kiss. "I love you, Jack Cottle."

"Not as much as I love you, Maggie Dawson." Jack handed her a letter he had written for his parents, explaining the situation. "I have to go. The raptor is leaving any minute." He pulled her close to him again and gave her a long kiss. "And don't forget ... ask for Bill Adama."

"I won't forget." She forced down the tears in her eyes. "Come back safe, Jack."

"I will. Be careful." They kissed again and then they had to separate. Maggie watched him disappearing in the crowd. She wondered how long it would take before she would see him again.

XXXXXXX

Quietly Maggie sat on the extra seat in the cockpit, watching the landscape flowing by below them. With a hurting heart she thought of Jack. Would she ever see him again? Now that he was working on a battlestar he was in danger almost all the time. She had heard that most of the battlestars had taken heavy damages. She closed her eyes and tried to think about what she would do next.

They were on their way to Carnsville. For the hundredth time she looked at Jack's letter. What would his parents say? They didn't even know their son was engaged and now they were supposed to take her and her family in just like that?

"Just a few more minutes."

"Huh?" Bill Adama's voice had pulled her out of her thoughts.

"We'll be in Carnsville in a few minutes." Bill repeated.

"Oh ... thanks." Maggie smiled at him warmly. "Thank you for everything."

"No problem." Bill shrugged it off.

Maggie looked at him thoughtfully. "Why are you doing all this? You're taking a big risk."

"Jack Cottle saved my life. If it hadn't been for him, I would have died in another refugee camp a few months ago. He risked his life to get me out of there. He got shot even."

"It was you." Maggie exclaimed surprised.

"What?"

"The pilot Jack saved when he got shot. It was you."

"Yup, that was me." Bill replied quietly. "I got shot down a few days before. I was hardly conscious at the time. Cottle not only saved my life by dragging me out of the camp, but also by operating on me before. He's one hell of a doctor."

"That he is." Maggie replied proudly.

"If anyone is going to survive this war, it's him." Bill said resolutely

"I hope you're right." Maggie said quietly. "I hope you're right."

XXXXXXX

The war lasted another three years. Just when the colonials were convinced they had lost, the Cylons gave up. A truce was formed between both parties ... and the war was over.

Jack and Maggie hadn't seen each other once during that time. Now that it was over they couldn't wait to see each other again. Jack only waited for all his critical patients to be either out of danger or being transferred to one of the planets and then immediately requested leave.

Maggie was working in the garden when she saw the car pull up the drive-up. She immediately knew who was coming. A wide smile appeared on her lips. She let the rake fall down, wiped her hands on her trousers, pulled a few loose strands of hair in order and then quickly ran to him.

Jack saw her running towards him when he stepped out of the car. He quickly walked the few steps towards her and they embraced each other tightly, exchanging several kisses. Neither of them was willing to ever let go again.

They got married two months later.

Jack took a post in a military hospital in Caprica City and Maggie kept working in the school in Carnsville. By now she had enough experience in teaching that she only needed to pass a few tests and would be officially employed as a teacher of the colonies. She got along well with her in-laws. She had her family and her best friend around. She was happy. And so was Jack.

They had bought a small house in Carnsville and on Colonial Day, their first night in their new house, Jack had prepared a special dinner for them. It wasn't much ... so shortly after the war they never had enough of anything, but it was special. They enjoyed the dinner and talked about everything that happened during the three years they were apart. Afterwards Jack played a CD with Maggie's favorite song – it was the same song they had danced together for the first time ... "Dancing under the moon" from Frank Artanis. They were dancing until late in the night, always to the same music. It was their song ... They didn't need anything else.

They were building their life together and for the next year it seemed nothing could destroy their happiness.

Until the one fateful day when one of the most heavy storms hauled over the planet. Jack was stuck in the hospital. The road to Carnsville was blocked and he had decided to stay in Caprica City. Maggie had been surprised by the storm while visiting her parents-in-law. When the storm got heavier, she remembered that the window in the barn hadn't been closed. She had seen it when she had arrived earlier the day. The hay was stapled beneath it and they couldn't risk it getting wet. Against the protests of Jack's parents, Maggie grabbed her coat and quickly ran through the rain to the barn. She had a hard time running against the wind. When she finally had reached the barn, she was relieved to close the doors behind her. She wasn't really looking forward to go out there again in a few minutes.

She turned on the lights and grabbed the latter - the window was several meters high. She quickly climbed up the ladder and pulled on the window. It stuck and she had a hard time closing it. She pulled several times and when it suddenly gave in, she was so surprised, she lost balance. She tried to hold on to the wall, but her hands were too wet from the rain. She glided off and felt herself falling backwards. Before she knew what was happening, she felt on the ground with a loud bounce. The last thing she remembered was a terrifying cracking sound from her back before she lost consciousness.

XXXXXXX

Nervously Jack paced through the waiting area of the Caprican City hospital. Despite the heavy storm Maggie had been flown here after her accident. That alone told Jack how serious her condition had to be. He didn't know much. All his parents had told him was that Maggie had fallen from a ladder, that she had been unconscious for a while and that she had been admitted here. Now he was waiting desperately on any news from her attending doctor.

Several hours later Dr. Martin Pierson stepped into the waiting area.

"Jack." He greeted his colleague and friend.

"How is she?" Jack asked quickly.

As he listened to Martin telling him about Maggie's condition, the despair in him grew. She had a small spinal fracture. She wasn't paralyzed, but she would have to lie still for several weeks until the fracture was healed. She also had internal bleedings, but Martin had been able to stop them. She wasn't in any immediate danger anymore.

"Can I see her?" Jack asked in a hoarse voice. He felt uncomfortable. He wasn't used to be on this side. Usually he was the one being asked.

"Sure." Hesitantly Martin looked at him. "Listen, Jack, there is one more thing."

"What?" Jack was immediately alerted by the look in his friends eyes. He knew that look. And the tone of his voice. He had used it so often already.

"We found something during the examination. We checked all organs for injuries and ..." He let out a deep sigh. "There's a tumor in her left lung."

Jack froze. That couldn't be true. This had to be some kind of nightmare and he would wake up any moment and Maggie would be at his side and everything would be all right.

"Jack?"

He looked at Martin. "What treatment are you suggesting?" He had no idea where he had the strength to ask this question. He was acting on autopilot. This couldn't be happening.

"We will start chemotherapy right away. And as soon as she is stable ... we will remove the tumor."

Jack nodded. "And the lung ..."

"From where the tumor is positioned ... I don't think it can be saved." Martin answered quietly.

Again Jack nodded. He didn't think he could say anything else right now.

Martin showed him the room Maggie was in and Jack quietly stepped towards her. She was still asleep. He pulled a chair to the bed and sat down. He didn't dare to touch her. She looked so frail, he was afraid she would break if he touched her.

Maggie woke up a few hours later. When he saw her waking up, Jack quickly got up and bent over her so she could see him. She wasn't even allowed to move her head.

"Hi."

"Jack?" Her voice sounded weak, almost inaudible.

"Didn't I tell you not to fall down from ladders?" Jack tried to talk in a light tone, but he wasn't sure it worked.

"I think you ... left that out." She gave him a small smile.

"I love you, Maggie." He gently stroked her face, hardly touching her.

She looked at him intently. "How bad ... is it?"

"You're going to be okay." Jack assured her with a warm smile.

"You sure?"

"I'm the doctor remember. When I say you're going to be all right, you're going to be all right."

"Yes, Sir." She gave him a last smile before sleep took hold of her again and her eyes fell closed.

Maggie didn't recover. The cancer spread faster than they could treat her. It might have been different if they hadn't just fought a war that had lasted too long and had cost them most of their medical supplies. The Cylons had repeatedly attacked medical facilities and even one year after the end of the war they still didn't have enough medication to safe everyone. In different times, Maggie would have been saved. But as things stood, she didn't have a chance. Within a few weeks she had metastases everywhere in her body and eventually it reached the brain. Her fracture healed and she was allowed to move after a few weeks ... but she never left the hospital again.

Once month after Maggie's death, Jack sold the house and took the position of the medical doctor on the Battlestar Galactica. He never stopped loving Maggie. The pain never got less ... but somewhere he found the strength to keep living. But he never was truly happy ever again.

XXXXXXX

40 years later, Second Cylon War, Battlestar Galactica

"Has it spread?" Laura Roslin asked in a calm voice.

"No, the chamalla seems to be working. For now." Jack muttered.

"Good." Roslin smiled at him. "Are you coming to the Colonial Day festivities?"

"No." Jack replied and took a deep drag from his cigarette.

"The smoking is going to kill you someday." Roslin looked at him with a raised eyebrow. It had disturbed her from the beginning that he was smoking so much even when he was in sickbay.

"We all have to die someday." Jack replied in his usual gruff voice. "And I've been smoking for 40 years now. If it hasn't killed me until now, I think I'm safe."

"If you say so." She looked at him disapprovingly. "Happy Colonial Day." She said as she turned to leave.

Jack didn't reply anything.

XXXXXXX

Jack stepped into his dark quarters and turned on the lights. He looked around the room for a moment, then he put out his cigarette. He went to his locker and got out a set of dishes. It was the same dishes that Maggie had bought for their house. The same dishes they had ate from on their first day in their new house. He had always taken good care of them. He hadn't kept much, but this ... he couldn't throw it away. And it had survived the end of the world.

He put two sets of dishes on the table and sat down. He had taken some food from the mess and while he was eating he imagined Maggie sitting across from him. He was doing this every year. Every Colonial Day ... he knew it wasn't healthy but he couldn't help himself. He didn't want to forget her.

He told her about his last year. About the Cylon attack and the end of the world. About the school teacher who was now their President. He told her about his Commander who they had met so many years ago and who was now humanity's only hope to survive. He told her that he didn't think it would take much longer for them to meet again.

With everyone else he pretended all day that their situation didn't scare him, that he wasn't worried if the Cylons would kill them all tomorrow. He didn't let them see his anger and frustration at treating victims from a new Cylon War. He didn't let anyone see how painful it was too see Laura Roslin dying from cancer. With Maggie, he didn't need to pretend.

After the dinner he got up and turned on the music ..."Dancing under the Moon". He closed his eyes and he could feel her close to him. He heard her whisper in his ear how much she loves that song ... how much she loves him. That she is waiting for him.

Slowly Jack danced to the music. For a short while, once a year, Maggie was with him again.

The end.

**A.N.: Thanks to Laurie for beta reading. And thank you to everyone for reading and leaving feedback. It's always very much appreciated. **


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